‘Jump Street’ Directors Say ‘Men in Black’ Crossover Still Very Much in Play

We mostly assumed that a ‘23 Jump Street’ movie would never happen. Where could you possibly go after the lunacy of the ‘22 Jump Street’ end credits that joked at the idea of horrible sequels up until ‘43 Jump Street’ (subtitled “Mariachi School”). Then came reports late last year of an idea so insane that it might actually work: crossing over ‘23 Jump Street’ and ‘Men in Black’. It was so insane, in fact, that a lot of people thought it wasn’t real. But, directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller promise that it’s very real and that they’re currently developing the project at Sony.

The news of the ‘23 Jump Street’/’Men in Black’ crossover came out of the Sony e-mail leaks back in December with word that Sony was ready to greenlight the project on concept and talent participation alone. MTV caught up with Lord and Miller at the Golden Globes and asked them for the straight dope on this proposed sequel/reboot/crossover thing:

Nothing’s changed. It’s still a crazy idea, and we only do things that seem like they’re going to be terrible. We’re really focusing on what’s a great story for Schmidt and Jenko and how to tell the next chapter in their lives. And perhaps use creatures from another world at the same time.

Before you get excited that this could actually happen (and, make no bones about, this is an oddly fantastic idea), there are a few stumbling blocks. For one, ‘Men in Black’ producer Steven Spielberg has yet to sign off on the project, and Sony can’t (or won’t) proceed without his blessing. And two, Lord and Miller caution that while, yes, they’re developing the idea, “We’re developing a lot of things…and they may or may not all happen, but that’s how the business works.”

Lord and Miller do have a busy development plate including sequels to ‘22 Jump Street’ and ‘The LEGO Movie’, plus the ‘LEGO Batman’ and ‘Ninjago’ spinoffs. And, then there was that rumor about them working on an animated ‘Spider-Man’ movie. The two haven’t yet decided on their next directorial project, but certainly have their share of options.